


saccharine

by birdii (birdmint)



Category: Red Velvet (K-pop Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-06-28
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:48:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24972601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/birdmint/pseuds/birdii
Summary: The one where Joy is an incredibly powerful demon but somehow ends up eating cupcakes and playing Monopoly with warlock Wendy and her group of friends. demon au
Relationships: Bae Joohyun | Irene/Park Sooyoung | Joy, Bae Joohyun | Irene/Son Seungwan | Wendy, Park Sooyoung | Joy/Son Seungwan | Wendy
Comments: 11
Kudos: 86





	saccharine

**Author's Note:**

> i really gotta stop writing AUs-- i can't remember what name is being used by who for what in a story. if you catch me slipping... be kind sobs.
> 
> thanks to the wendies GC for the push to write this <3 i promise i'll finish my challenge fic soon ilu all

Sooyoung was _bored_. The problem with being a powerful demon was that, pretentious power-hungry warlocks aside, she found herself stuck in the demon realm more often than not. And there was _nothing_ to do.

Perhaps that was why she decided to let the voice lead her away from her usual stomping grounds.

There was technically not enough power in the song to lure her. She could taste the thin, meager spread of magic in the melody. But it was beautiful and more than skillful enough to attempt to summon her if the warlock had wanted to.

But mostly she was bored and intrigued, and so she followed the song to the portal it described. Her presence scared away the lessor demons so she could claim the portal for herself. Without a second look at her bland surroundings, she drew her power in tight to squeeze through the tiny doorway.

She wasn’t sure what she was expecting on the other side. Perhaps a basement studio with the typical dusty tomes and nasty spell casting paraphernalia that honestly Sooyoung wouldn’t come near if used. Sometimes she emerged in an airy attic, or even a field, circle laid down in paint. What she wasn’t expecting was to emerge in a neat, brightly lit living room on a sheet of plastic with a sharpied diagram.

She spun in a slow circle, taking in the quickly sketched diagram. It was neat, precise despite the… interesting choice of material. Moreover, it wasn’t easily disturbable, unlike chalk, which was definitely a point in the warlock’s favor.

“Oh, hi!” came a startled voice from somewhere behind her. Sooyoung turned to see the strangest warlock she’d ever encountered.

It was a girl, quite shorter than Sooyoung’s preferred form. She had short hair tied back hastily from her face and a flour spotted apron on over a hoodie. Her eyes were comically wide, and Sooyoung preened as she watched the small warlock’s eyes trail over her form. It was one she’d put together years ago and she was never disappointed by the reactions she got.

“I… really wasn’t expecting anyone like you,” the girl finally said with a frown. “No disrespect… I was just expecting someone, um… Smaller.”

“Well, it’s me you got,” Sooyoung said, peering around the room. It looked cozy, a worn but plush couch, a TV, a few scattered books. A very domestic setting for a demon summoning, all in all. “What do you need? Hopefully no one killed, because your carpet is very white, and I’d have to ask a bit more power from you to get that cleaned up.”

“What?” The look on her face was horrified and Sooyoung wanted to laugh. A warlock finding killing distasteful was a joke and a half. “No…”

“I mean, I _could_ probably clean it for free,” Sooyoung continued, grin widening as the girl’s eyes did. “You’re cute.”

“ _Please_ don’t kill anyone. No, um. A much, uh, smaller task.”

“Boring.” Sooyoung sighed dramatically. “Alright, what is it.”

“I just need to clean up the kitchen. Would you help me with that?”

“You want me… to clean your kitchen.” She folded her arms across her chest with a scowl. (Although, if she were being honest, the nervous look on the warlock’s face was very amusing.) “I’m not some domestic brownie.”

“I mean, to be honest, I didn’t mean to summon you at all,” the warlock said, her voice perfectly contrite. “I thought I was summoning a sprite.”

“You need to keep a better leash on your voice,” she drawled, but finally had pity on the small warlock. “Alright, show me your kitchen, then.”

“Sure, um, over here...” The warlock scurried off in front of her, and Sooyoung followed behind. She gave a last look to the circle. The summoning circle was very obviously meant to hold a far weaker demon than her, but she was having far too much fun.

Sooyoung had expected at least a little ichor or slime. Something that would actually necessitate calling in a demon for the removal work. Maybe something growing.

“You summoned a demon to clean up flour?” She looked around the tiny kitchen. All she could see was a dusting of flour on the floor, some splatters of batter, and a few smears of red on the counter. For a moment she wondered if the warlock wasn’t telling her everything. But a second later she discovered the still uncapped food coloring. “Why didn’t you just magic it up?”

“It’s sticky and I can never get all the flour up out of the corners,” the warlock complained. “Plus, my roommate is allergic to magic.

“What, do you live with a fae?” Sooyoung huffed. She was really having a hard time getting a handle on this warlock.

“No, just a human. But Joohyun unnie starts sneezing if there’s too much magic residue. I don’t want to try to explain why I can’t just dust again.”

Sooyoung sighed, bringing a hand to her face. “So you live with a human. And you’re summoning demons?”

The girl simply shrugged. “I really wasn’t expecting you. I was expecting a far less powerful demon.” Sooyoung just grumbled, unwilling to reveal why the summoning had gone unexpectedly. “I’m sorry that all I have to offer you in return is cupcakes. And some tea, if you’d like some.”

“These better be some damn good cupcakes,” Sooyoung acquiesced. “And some green tea too.”

The warlock smiled, and Sooyoung thought she liked the sight quite a fair bit more than her frown. “Alright!”

The girl started filling her kettle as Sooyoung stepped into the middle of the kitchen. She turned around once taking in the flour splattered kitchen, then snapped. All of the mess disappeared immediately, even the open food coloring capping itself shut. She heard the warlock behind her gasp before starting to clap.

“Wow, that was so fast! The water isn’t even warm.”

“You’re used to some weak ass demons,” she drawled, though she had to admit it felt nice to impress with a simple party trick. She took the liberty of draping herself over a chair at the table as the warlock waited by the kettle. “So where are these cupcakes?”

“Well they haven’t cooled enough for me to frost them, but...”

Sooyoung watched as the girl bustled around the kitchen. A few minutes later she was presented with two cupcakes on a saucer with a side of frosting and a fork as well as the requested green tea.

“I hope you like them!”

For a moment Sooyoung simply contemplated the homey spread in front of her. But in the end, tea and homemade cupcakes wasn’t a bad offering for the minuscule amount of work she’d done and so she had no complaints. Cautiously, she dipped her fork into the frosting before getting a bite of the cupcake.

The warlock sat down at the table next to her, a single cupcake on her own plate. “How is it?”

Sooyoung didn’t want to dim the smile on the warlock’s face, but as it turned out, she didn’t need to; the cupcake was good. Excellent, even. As a demon, she could feel every bit of the care that went into the pastry. It made her want to sink down to the floor in delight. Instead she simply devoured the two cupcakes greedily.

“How do I get more?” she said when she finished, licking the last bit of frosting from her fork. It seemed to be store-bought, and so not as good, but it was still sweet. She washed down the sugar with her tea, having forgotten it earlier in her gluttony.

“Well they’re for my friend’s birthday party tomorrow and I didn’t really make that many...” The girl frowned but Sooyoung didn’t have time for that.

“I can instantly clean the whole apartment building if you give me more,” Sooyoung offered. “For… a dozen.” She could do that with practically no more effort than the kitchen alone, but the warlock didn’t need to know that.

However, the warlock just laughed. She had lightened up considerably after finding out Sooyoung was willing to accept a payment of cupcakes. Normally Sooyoung liked her warlocks more frightened and in awe of her, but cheerful suited the girl. Sooyoung _also_ liked cute girls.

“Well you _could_ dust our apartment because Joohyun unnie is also allergic to dust. If you’re willing to stick around to clean up another flour mess, I can make a second batch of cupcakes.”

“Deal. Dust and flour for a dozen cupcakes,” Sooyoung said.

The girl stood up, moving to peer in the fridge. “Alright, a dozen cupcakes for dusting, cleaning up my baking mess... and your name.” She looked from the fridge to Sooyoung with a grin. “What can I call you?”

Sooyoung was thrown for a loop again. But the girl wasn’t asking her Name. Just a name to call her by. “Joy.”

“Call me Wendy,” the girl replied, and her smile was as sweet as her cupcakes.

They had chatted while Wendy had made the second batch of cupcakes. She found out that the warlock was a student studying music, which would explain why her spell casting was so skillful. But otherwise, she seemed to live a dull, typical human life. Sooyoung enjoyed her smile and enjoyed the cupcakes. But she took the last batch with her to go after filling her end of the bargain (and perhaps cleaned up a bit more of the apartment than promised— they were _good_ cupcakes) and never expected to see Wendy again. It had been a brief, pleasant diversion.

She wasn’t expecting to end up right back in Wendy’s kitchen the next day.

A voice woke her from a bored doze, and she followed the melody without thought, glutting herself on the power wrapped up in the song. She didn’t realize it led her to a portal until a shriek and a splash of water startled her from her mindless snacking.

“Is everything alright?” called a voice from another room.

Sooyoung found herself staring at an obviously startled Wendy, breathing hard with a hand pressed against her heart dripping soapy water into her shirt.

“I’m fine! I just thought I saw a… a spider,” the startled warlock managed to choke out. It seemed to be enough of a cover.

“Get rid of it, unnie!”

There was a moment where they both paused, Wendy seeming to try to catch her breath, Sooyoung staring at her trying to pretend like she didn’t _not_ know how the fuck she ended up back in this kitchen. When no one entered the room, Sooyoung waved her hand, drying both the water splashed on her and the handprint Wendy had unwittingly soaked into her shirt.

“So why did you summon me this time?” Sooyoung said, leaning against a counter. She looked around again but didn’t see any obvious method of summoning. No circles, no spell foci. Not even the silly bit of plastic Wendy had used last time.

“I really didn’t, I’m sorry. I was just doing the dishes,” Wendy said, gesturing towards the sink full of water.

“There’s no other warlocks here, is there?” She made to peer into the next room, but saw Wendy move to grab her arm, only dropping her hand when she seemed to remember that Sooyoung wasn’t just another house guest but a powerful _demon_. Just one that happened to be easily amused by cute girls making her cupcakes.

“No, no warlocks. It’s just my friend’s birthday, so everyone’s here for the party.”

“Including your human roommate?”

Wendy frowned at her. “Yeah, Joohyun unnie is here.”

“And all your other guests, they’re human?” Sooyoung turned back towards the other room, although she heeded Wendy’s anxious fluttering and didn’t actually stick her head out.

“Of course. Why do you ask?”

“I mean, you said you didn’t just summon me, so who did?” Sooyoung stopped. Something seemed very off about the energy she sensed from the other room. It definitely wasn’t a group of only humans. “I can tell you that you have at least a succubus out there.”

“A succubus?” She looked alarmed by the news, which was strange. As a warlock, Wendy should be able to sense the demonic energy given off. Sooyoung wasn’t sure what to make of that piece of information, given that Wendy had also managed to catch her attention before with sheer skill.

“Yeah, I…” Wait… Sooyoung _knew_ that energy signature. She turned the corner as Wendy sputtered behind her. “Seulgi unnie!” she shouted, alarming each of the three people in the room.

“Soo- Joy-ah!” Seulgi replied, barely managing to reign in her shock. The succubus glanced towards the other two girls with a worried look, and Sooyoung guessed they must not know anything.

“Unnie! It’s been so long since I’ve seen you! It’s…” She looked around the room, spotting the balloons with ‘Seulgi Happy Birthday’ helpfully printed on them. “It’s your birthday?” She hadn’t seen Seulgi for literal years. Apparently, she’d been in the human realm long enough to pretend to have a birthday. She’d suspect it Wendy’s doing, but Wendy seemed to be under the impression her friend was human and had a birthday. “I just… wanted to wish you a happy birthday. Wendy-ssi invited me over.”

She turned around to find Wendy had followed her into the room as she expected. She still had an alarmed expression on her face; Sooyoung would tell her that she was doing a bad job at keeping things under wraps, but she was too amused by the situation. Besides, it’s not as though she cared if she was revealed. As far as she could tell, no one here had the power to summon her, especially not with such ease- or without a circle which Sooyoung didn’t see anywhere in the room. It might suck for Wendy, but that wasn’t her problem.

“Hi,” she greeted the other two in the room. “I’m Joy.”

“I’m Joohyun,” one offered with a polite bow of the head. She was pretty—almost as pretty as Sooyoung. She was vaguely offended, but she supposed humans couldn’t help their looks.

“Hi, I’m Yerim,” the second girl said. She looked far younger than any of the other girls in the room. “Are you Seulgi unnie’s friend?”

“Yeah…”

“Weird,” Yerim said with a frown. “Unnie’s never mentioned you.”

Sooyoung simply shrugged, looking around the room again. Now that she knew it was Seulgi’s energy and could separate it out, she could still sense something unexpected for a room supposedly full of humans.

“We were going to play Monopoly after I finished the dishes,” Wendy spoke up, interrupting her scan.

“Monopoly?”

“Monopoly!” Seulgi repeated with a wide grin. She leaned over the side of the couch and picked up a wide thin box. Sooyoung could see ‘MONOPOLY’ emblazoned across the front. “Wendy got it for my birthday! This one’s in Korean so we can all understand it.” Sooyoung took that to mean ‘Joohyun and Yerim’ since Seulgi, and Wendy with spell assistance, would be able to read whatever script the game was written in. Sooyoung hadn’t even realized she was in Korea.

“Did you want to join us?” Joohyun asked. Sooyoung looked back at the girl. Then it clicked. The additional weird energy she was sensing--

She turned back to Wendy, who still looked very concerned despite the shaky smile she was trying to hide it with. “Is no one in this room actually human?”

“Wha-what do you mean?”

Sooyoung gestured widely to the room at large. “I don’t remember the last time I saw this many non-humans in one place. Save that one werewolf convention, but that doesn’t count.”

“You went to that?” Seulgi asked, but Sooyoung didn’t get to answer.

“What do you _mean_ no one here is human?” Wendy exclaimed. The poor warlock looked quite put out by Sooyoung’s declaration. Joohyun held out an arm and Wendy absently followed the gesture, letting Joohyun settle her on the couch next to her. She didn’t notice a glamour stringing Wendy along, which was intriguing in itself.

“Warlock,” she said, pointing to Wendy. “Demons,” she continued, gesturing to herself and Seulgi, “and fae,” she said, waving to Joohyun and Yerim. Neither of them seemed perturbed by the announcement; in fact, Yerim had a sharp, toothy smile and Sooyoung had the impression that she could probably be good friends with the small fae.

“You should’ve let her know so she didn’t have to summon sprites to clean the kitchen,” she continued, her eyes on Joohyun now.

Joohyun turned to Wendy, a pout on her face. “You were summoning _sprites_ into our apartment? And you didn’t tell me?”

Wendy simply buried her face in her hands. “Can we back up to the part where my roommate and her sister are _fae_? And my best friend is a succubus?”

“Joy-ah…” Sooyoung turned back to where Seulgi was still holding her game. “Let’s play Monopoly!”

Sooyoung pursed her lips, finding Joohyun rubbing Wendy’s back while Yerim, apparently overhearing Seulgi, had started clearing the table of wrapping paper and remotes. It was still a mystery why she was here, but she couldn’t sense any threat in the apartment. She could easily overpower anyone in the room, in any case.

She snapped her fingers with a nod. “Dishes are clean, but don’t get used to me doing that. Are there any cupcakes left?”

Joohyun managed to calm Wendy to the point where she agreed to play the game. Yerim got Sooyoung her cupcake, although not without claiming half of it for herself. She would be angry, but it’d been a clever ploy and she was still half a cupcake richer than an hour ago. Seulgi cheerfully set up the board with directions from Wendy who seemed shell-shocked.

“C’mon my dear warlock,” she said, sitting on the arm of the couch and nudging Wendy with her leg. “It’s not the end of the world. It’s time for… uh, Monopoly?”

“I thought I _knew_ everyone,” she replied, the quiet shock suddenly breaking apart at Sooyoung’s prodding. “I didn’t even summon you, and you’ve… upended my entire _life_.”

Sooyoung slid from the arm of the couch, jostling both Wendy and Joohyun as she squeezed herself onto the end of the couch. She wrapped her arm around Wendy’s back over Joohyun’s hand, getting an alarmed expression from the warlock and a scowl from the fae. “Look, I haven’t seen Seulgi for like 3 years, so you probably know her about as well as you can expect since it looks like this is where she’s been hiding. And Joohyun…”

She met the fae’s eyes again. She was still getting glared at, which was kind of unfairly attractive. “Well, I can tell you she isn’t using a glamour, so she’s probably been pretty sincere too. And, um, Yerim—”

The small fae shrugged. “I’m just here to keep an eye on Joohyun unnie. I like it here, though. I call the hat piece.”

“Fair.” Sooyoung placed her fingers under Wendy’s chin, getting an annoyed grunt from Joohyun, lifting it so the warlock was forced to meet her eyes. “Look. It’s not a big deal. I’m the only new thing here. And I’m going to try one round of this…. whatever it is and leave. And you can stop summoning demons to clean and just tell your roommate to clear out for a bit. Even better.”

“Right… right…” Wendy shook her head before looking over at Joohyun. “Why didn’t you tell me? I could’ve warned you so you didn’t have to sneeze.”

Joohyun just sighed. Sooyoung took this as her cue to wiggle her arm around from Wendy’s back, looking to Seulgi.

“So how do we play this game?”

“We really have to stop meeting like this,” Sooyoung said as she found herself emerging behind Wendy who was frantically singing under her breath. She waved at the demon approaching Wendy. It looked shocked to see her for the ten seconds she gave it before she promptly sent it back home.

Wendy stopped singing, spinning around. It was a shame; even in a hasty casting, her voice tasted rich and sweet. “I— what? Why are you…?”

“Are you really not summoning me?” The warlock was too busy catching her breath to respond with more than a shake of her head, so Sooyoung looped her arm around one of Wendy’s. “So where are we going?”

“’We’?” It was the first time Wendy dared lift her voice in Sooyoung’s presence. It wasn’t a bad look on her, truth be told.

“‘We’ because as much as I’ve enjoyed your company, I don’t think either of us are fond of me appearing next to you randomly, so we need to figure this out. So, where are we going?”

“Home,” Wendy said flatly. She looked down at where their arms were linked together but didn’t bother to protest. Instead she simply wheeled them around and set off down the sidewalk at a fast clip. “Do you know why demons keep popping into existence around me? Because I’m really over having to figure out how to banish things in the middle of a history lecture.”

“Couldn’t possibly be due to the magic leaking off of you in droves,” Sooyoung commented dryly. Wendy might’ve stopped singing, but she could still smell the crystalline sweetness of the small warlock’s power creating a cloud around them. “Pull that in before I decide to have myself a little dessert.”

“What do you mean?”

Sooyoung would assume she was joking—how Wendy couldn’t tell how much she was emitting when she had this much power to play with in the first place was baffling. However, Wendy’s flat tone and tired eyes spoke to her sincerity.

“C’mon, you can’t tell?” Sooyoung said. She dragged her hand through the cloud, curling a bit of the wispy cloud around her finger. It melted when she popped her finger in her mouth, a bright hit of energy on her tongue. “Christ, no wonder demons are just popping in. It’s like a free buffet.”

“I have no idea what you mean.” Wendy jostled Sooyoung sharply as she only started walking faster. “I couldn’t even sense the sprites I used to summon. I have just enough energy to pull them through and tidy the apartment. I have like- like a _teaspoon_ of magic.”

“Uh… you really don’t.”

“I don’t have the energy for this right now,” Wendy huffed. Sooyoung had to stop her at the corner of the sidewalk to keep her from walking into the busy street. “I’ve had a very awful day.” She pulled her arm out of Sooyoung’s and turned to face her. For once, there was no hint of the cheerful attitude she’d come to expect from the small warlock. Her expression was hard, eyes dark.

“Various demonic beings have been appearing all day, my vision’s hazy, I feel like I’m walking across water instead of ground, and even you look… different.” For a moment, she scowled, eyes trailing up and down Sooyoung’s form before shaking her head. “I’m probably getting the flu and I’m really not really up to any more impromptu banishing.”

The deep frown finally faded, Wendy’s shoulders falling as though she’d used up the last of her energy in ranting. “I’d try to banish you if I thought I could but…” She waved her hand vaguely before setting off across the sidewalk. Privately, Sooyoung was glad she didn’t even try; she wasn’t sure that Wendy _couldn’t_ at this point with all the magic she had at hand.

“So you really don’t see all this magic?” Sooyoung tried again.

“I see a weird mist.” Wendy waved her hand in front of her face. “No one else is complaining about the fog so it’s gotta be me.”

“It is. It’s all from you.”

“I… really?” Wendy stopped moving in her surprise, as though she hadn't been taking herself seriously until Sooyoung confirmed the thought. Sooyoung almost bowled her over, but managed to catch herself in time, hands on the warlock’s shoulders.

“Yeah. You’re going to have demon problems until you siphon it all up. Or,” she continued with a wide grin. “You can just let me eat it all.”

Wendy shook her head, bumping Sooyoung with her shoulder. It caught her off guard enough to make her stumble to the side. “Even though I don’t know what you mean, even _I_ know that’s a bad idea. I guess I’m lucky you haven’t already.”

“You _definitely_ are.” Sooyoung leaned in, doing her best to put all her long suffering into her voice as she spoke into Wendy’s ear. “It smells _so_ delicious.”

She got swatted at for her trouble. “I’ll figure it out. At least I know why this is happening to me now.” They had made it to Wendy’s apartment. She sighed as she pulled out her keys. “Don’t you have somewhere to be?”

“ _You_ are the one who summoned me. And anyways, it’s my presence that’s—”

Sooyoung was cut off by a chorus of voices shouting, “Happy birthday Wendy!”

She was pushed to the side by Seulgi, who had moved forward to engulf Wendy in a hug. “Happy birthday, Wan-ah! Come in!”

Despite the command, Seulgi didn’t move for a moment, her head still buried in Wendy’s neck. “Did you get a new perfume? You smell… good…”

“Don’t get any ideas.” Sooyoung stepped in as she realized what was happening, elbowing Seulgi. “It’s just magic overflow.”

“Huh?” Seulgi pulled away slowly, her expression dazed. But it soon turned into a look of horror as Sooyoung’s words registered. “I’ll just… go over there…?” She gestured vaguely to the other side of the apartment before leaving the room.

“What?” Wendy turned around with a frown.

“Succubus plus way too much available magic. Pretty sure you don’t want Seulgi to feed… unless I missed something?”

Wendy’s cheeks were bright red when Yerim intervened. “We got you a cake! And we were going to get food—just give unnie your order!”

“It looks like you’ve had a rough day, Wan-ah…” Wendy let Joohyun pull her into the living room and sit her on the couch. Sooyoung followed for lack of a better plan.

Joohyun placed an order for chicken and pizza, while Yeri presented Wendy with boba and had her cut a heavily decorated cake. Seulgi did her best to cheer her on while remaining firmly in the armchair she’d claimed. Sooyoung felt like an outsider, but Wendy just handed her a piece of cake with a smile, even if it looked a bit strained.

“So, what’s going on with you?” Yerim finally asked once they were all settled with food in front of them, minus Joohyun who was standing away against the wall and sneezing at regular intervals.

“I’m not sure…” Wendy said. Sooyoung noticed she hadn’t eaten much, the plates of cake and chicken more toyed with than anything. “I’ve had demons showing up all day.”

“She’s leaking magic everywhere,” Sooyoung cut in. The point was underscored by Joohyun sneezing yet again.

“I’m glad _I’m_ not allergic,” Yerim said, scrunching her nose. “Can’t you like, tuck it away or something?”

“That’s the problem; I don’t know how.” Wendy slumped down on the couch. Sooyoung patted her knee in sympathy. “I never thought I even _had_ this much magic.”

“Can you find a teacher or something?” Seulgi asked.

“I already completed my apprenticeship. Years ago.” Wendy groaned and slid further down the couch. “And that requires actually being able to sense the magic. I always sucked at those exercises.”

“What if you just used it up? Or let one of these two take it?” Yerim suggested.

“According to Joy-ssi, I doubt I _could_ manage to use it up. And its uh, very bad practice to just let a demon take your magic. It usually goes bad for any humans around. And I especially think it’d be a bad idea to let Seulgi, uh…”

Sooyoung had to laugh at Wendy’s awkward trail off. Seulgi in return simply nodded with a grimace, giving a thumbs up of understanding.

Yerim looked between them all with a frown. “But it’s Seulgi… You like Seulgi.”

“Wan-ah, drink your tea!” Joohyun called out as Wendy only buried her face in her hands and Sooyoung lost it yet again.

“Humans don’t treat sex so casually,” Sooyoung finally managed to choke out to Yeri’s unimpressed expression.

“It’s not _my_ fault I’m new to this realm,” Yerim pouted. “Okay, so what else can we do?”

“Let’s do something else. I don’t wanna think about it right now. My head is kinda… fuzzy.” She waved her hand vaguely in the air as she laughed, and Sooyoung could see from the frowns on every other face in the room that the attempt at lightheartedness hadn’t gone over well.

“Lemme get you some pain pills,” Joohyun said.

“Do you think allergy meds would help you?” Wendy said, starting to stand from the couch. “I took them out of the box, but they’re the white pills—”

“Sit down,” Yerim said, tugging at Wendy’s arm to pull her back down to the couch. “Let unnie get it.”

“But…”

Joohyun returned a moment later, handing a bottle of ibuprofen over and holding up a small foil container. “These are the allergy meds, right?” She sneezed twice in succession, backing away quickly after Wendy nodded in confirmation. “See, I know things!”

“Unnie, you didn’t know what the dishwashing pods were. I almost called the landlord to have him replace the dishwasher because nothing got clean!”

Joohyun pouted. “I didn’t know the dishwasher needed something to make it wash. It’s a _dishwasher_!”

Sooyoung over to Seulgi, who was snickering at the exchange, apparently content to let it play out. She took her cue from Seulgi’s indifference. “So, what were the birthday plans?”

“We can play Monopoly again…?” Seulgi suggested.

“And let unnie beat us again?” Yerim complained.

“Can she beat us if she’s sneezing all the time?”

In the end, Wendy connected her phone to the tv, and they took turns sharing Youtube videos while snacking on leftovers. Sooyoung eventually manhandled Wendy into laying down when it looked like was ready to doze off, resting Wendy’s head on a cushion in her lap. Joohyun eventually stopped sneezing long enough to squeeze herself on the other end of the couch by Yerim to join them. For a party she’d never meant to crash, it was surprisingly cozy.

Eventually it got late enough for Seulgi and Yerim to say their goodbyes. Sooyoung stayed put since Wendy was asleep on her lap, Joohyun gently moving Wendy’s feet from her lap in order to let them out. She returned with a frown, hands on her hips.

“Should I wake her?” Sooyoung asked, looking down at the peaceful girl. She brushed a stray hair behind Wendy’s ear.

“Why do you care?” The wording was aggressive, but Joohyun’s tone was more… curious, if she had to guess.

“I’ve grown fond of her,” Sooyoung admitted. “So far, I’ve ended up here three different times and I haven’t been asked to grant anyone power or kill anyone or any of the usual warlock tropes, and I keep being given food. It’s been pretty nice.”

Sooyoung met Joohyun’s searching stare, but apparently, she judged Sooyoung’s answer to be sufficient. “Why don’t we let her sleep for a while? She looked tired.”

“Alright.”

She carefully slid out from under the cushion. Wendy turned as she was moved but remained asleep. She followed Joohyun into the kitchen to avoid disturbing the sleeping girl.

“Water?” Joohyun asked. Sooyoung raised an eyebrow, and the fae snorted at herself. “I’ve been here for a while, alright? It’s polite to offer water to humans.”

“So why _are_ you here?” Sooyoung asked, finally finding her chance to assuage her curiosity. “Last I checked, faeries don’t hang around the human realm.”

“I was exiled,” she said simply.

Sooyoung was at a loss for words. Joohyun’s expression remained blank, her pretty face as telling as marble. Sooyoung had been expecting… just about anything else. Maybe a quick joyride in a different realm or running from a crime or even… having fallen in love with a human. Fae didn’t just exile one of their own.

Even she paused before asking, “…why?”

Joohyun’s gaze was unwavering, betraying no sense of hurt. “I was the Faerie Queen’s first child. Once I came of age, I was removed from the court to maintain order since her rule was still just beginning.”

“A political exile,” Sooyoung breathed. “That’s cruel. The current queen is only… three hundred years old or so, right? You could be here for half your life.”

“Don’t be disrespectful.”

Sooyoung could see it now, the royal bearing in Joohyun’s straight backed posture, in the way she managed to look down her nose at Sooyoung with a judging eye, even though Sooyoung was taller. Without the need to hide her nature, she was sharper, obviously dangerous. Sooyoung had misjudged her entirely under the guise Joohyun had worn in Wendy’s presence.

“Still…” She frowned. “And what about Yerim?”

“Here to watch me.” Here, Joohyun sighed, her shoulders slumping just enough to soften her. “She’s here to protect me from harm.”

“And to keep you from returning.”

Joohyun nodded. “The first of the Queen’s royal guard. It’s an honor.”

“You don’t sound too happy about it.”

“Yerim… is a changeling.”

Sooyoung’s eyes widened. A changeling… a human child taken from its family as an infant and raised as a fae. Living in the fae realm and growing up on fae food and in the wash of fae magic, changelings developed magic and developed as faes… as long as they remained in the fae realm. Here, Yeri’s body would remember her origins.

“She’ll never make it back home… _That_ is a cruel assignment.”

This time, Joohyun didn’t scold her. “Yerim had no choice but to obey.”

“Your queen had the choice to send another guard member,” Sooyoung scoffed. Joohyun’s silence was agreement enough.

“So then,” Joohyun started after the silence had grown long enough to be awkward. “Why are _you_ here?” The sharpness in her tone returned, but her posture was still curled in. Sooyoung decided she’d take the topic change; she’d learned what she’d wanted to know.

“I don't know, honestly. No _really_ ,” she protested when Joohyun gave her a disbelieving look. “Though after today, I think it’s just how powerful Wendy is. Her casting skill is really strong, and with all the magic hanging around… I mean any demon would be drawn to it.”

“The reason all the demons she mentioned showed up earlier.”

“Exactly.” Sooyoung ducked her head around the corner to where Wendy was still passed out on the couch. “I can stick around for the night; lesser demons won’t come by with my presence. I’ll just hang out on the couch or something if you toss me a book.”

“I’ll stay with you.”

“What?”

“I’m not letting some demon I don’t know have free reign in my home.”

That was a fair point, Sooyoung conceded. “So, what will we do?”

“We have games other than Monopoly…”

Sooyoung wasn’t a fan of the grin that spread on Joohyun’s face.

That was how Wendy emerged the next morning to Sooyoung stretched out on the couch (the two girls having tucked Wendy into bed), while Joohyun meditated on a cushion on the floor. Five different games were stacked up next to the couch while the remains of a lost game of Jenga were still spilled across the coffee table.

“What happened?” the warlock asked, voice still raspy from sleep.

“Thank goodness you’re awake!” Sooyoung said, bouncing up from the couch. “I’m so bored.”

Wendy looked at the scene in front of her for a moment before shaking her head. “I need coffee.”

“Make me one too!”

Wendy only grumbled incoherently but didn’t protest as Sooyoung bounded behind her.

Wendy was quiet as she rummaged around the kitchen, pulling out mugs and coffee grounds. Sooyoung settled into a seat at the table, watching her trudge around and occasionally yawn. It was cozy, the sound of the coffee machine sputtering to life while the rich scent from the beans filtered into the room.

When the coffee finished percolating, Wendy poured two cups, passing one to Sooyoung. She preferred her drink bitter and sipped at it contently as Wendy doctored her own with cream, not even bothering to move away from the counter to start gulping it down.

“So, why did you stay?” Wendy asked after she’d gotten halfway through her coffee. Sooyoung had let her drink in silence, enjoying her own since she didn’t often get the chance to have it, or any human food, honestly. The past few weeks had been a rare treat. The taste of Wendy’s care over the drink only improved it.

“You can’t banish demons when you’re asleep. Joohyun can’t banish them at all, so thought I’d stick around.”

“Thank you.”

Sooyoung looked up at Wendy’s sincerely grateful smile. She’d already gone above and beyond by staying last night, but the warlock’s appreciation compelled her to do more. “Gimme a knife.”

“Sorry?"

Sooyoung reached out towards Wendy, opening and closing her hand in a grabbing gesture. “Like a small one, but sharp. Not a table knife.” She pouted when Wendy just stared at her. “If I wanted to hurt you, I would’ve done that when you were sleeping. Also, I wouldn’t _ask_ you.”

At that, Wendy turned around and pulled a knife out of the wooden block and handed it to her handle first. Sooyoung hoped it was sharp as she dragged it over her left palm.

“Don’t—!” Wendy shouted belatedly, but burgundy ichor was already flowing sluggishly from the wound to spill on the table.

“You’re just going to disturb Joohyun’s meditation,” she scolded, scrunching her nose as she assessed the amount of ichor. The cut on her hand was already starting to close up, knitting itself into a deep red line, and so she ignored the sting without concern.

“You’re going to what?” Sooyoung sighed as she heard Joohyun’s voice behind her. She probably should’ve warned Wendy before she did it, to be fair, but it was too late now.

“Unnie!”

Sooyoung didn’t bother to turn, hearing Joohyun going to Wendy, instead focusing on the puddle in front of her. She waved her hand in a circle over the ichor, which followed her gesture and swirled into a small sphere. Before it could roll away with the leftover momentum, she picked up the orb which was now the size of a marble and shiny.

“Unnie, go get another allergy med,” Wendy was saying, Joohyun sniffling and rubbing at her nose. “I’ll go buy some more later.”

“It’ll be f—” The fae interrupted herself again with a sneeze.

“Look, you can fuss _after_ you take some medicine.”

“Yeah, go get that pill.” Sooyoung edged her way into the conversation without finesse. “Here, I made something for you.” She held out the orb in her palm where it glinted with the kitchen lights.

“What is it?” Joohyun asked, suspicion in her voice even despite the night they’d spent playing games together (that Joohyun had won almost every time).

“Is that your _blood_?” Seungwan looked horrified.

“It’s not going to make you sick or anything. Take it— it hurt to make so I’ll be upset if you don’t.”

The whining seemed to prod Seungwan to move, taking the sphere gently in her index and thumb and holding it up to the light. “What is it for?” She shot a look around Sooyoung to where Joohyun was still hovering. “Go get meds, unnie!”

“It’s a quick summons,” Sooyoung explained, as Joohyun slowly left down the hall. “And it’s not fragile; just don’t lose it. I can’t stay here forever, but if anything pops in that you can’t deal with, just hold that and think of me and I’ll hear it.”

“Blood magic…” Seungwan was still looking at the orb, holding it tenderly despite Sooyoung’s words. “This is a lot that you’re trusting me with.” And it was true. Even if ichor rather than blood, there was plenty Seungwan could do to bind her using the orb.

But she just shrugged, playing nonchalant. “I’d feel bad if I went home just for you to get eaten up because your faerie godmother can’t counter demonic energy for you.”

“I… I’ll keep it safe.”

“Put it on a necklace or something. It’s pretty enough to be jewelry, don’t you think?” She winked, taking pleasure in the way Wendy’s cheeks pinked even though the warlock didn’t seem sure how to respond. “Anyways, it’s been great but it’s time for me to head out. Tell Joohyun bye for me, and to learn to lose gracefully. Thanks for the coffee.”

“I’m not sure—” Wendy stopped talking as Sooyoung leaned in to plant a chaste kiss on her cheek. She raised her hand to the spot as Sooyoung grinned and waved.

“I hope I don’t see you again!” she said before she stepped back into her home realm, the kitchen and Wendy swirling into mist before her.

She wasn’t quite sure if she meant it.


End file.
